Within the mammalian body are many cavities. These include organ cavities and tissue cavities within which one or more organs are located. Depending on the particular cavity, these cavities are lined by endothelial cells, epithelial cells and/or basilamina material, which is produced by cellular foot plate secretions. Such tissue and organ cavities include the abdominal cavity, thoracic cavity, fallopian tube, uterine cavity, intraocular cavity, joint space or intra-articular cavity, central nervous system ventricular cavity and the dural spaces. Despite different functions, all cavities share the common requirement that they must be kept clean of foreign substances to maintain normal function.
As used in this disclosure, the term "foreign substances" is not limited to debris and fluid from outside the body but will be recognized in its broadest sense by those skilled in the medical arts to include foreign cells, which include mal- or dysfunctioning or displaced indigenous cells, proteins, sera, inflammatory cells, blood cells, tumor cells, tissue debris, infectious organisms (i.e., bacteria, virus and fungi) in addition to foreign bodies, such as glass, metal and wood, as well as other solid and liquid substances not normally found or desirable in a properly functioning body cavity. Under normal conditions, these cavities are essentially selfcleaning, being constantly cleaned by a system of scavenger cells and macrophages and constant flushing by freshly manufactured aqueous fluids.
The presence of foreign substances in tissue or organ cavities due to invasion, infection, deterioration, age or break down of the self-cleaning system can have symptomatic and pathological ramifications. For example, in the eye, the presence of foreign substances can produce clouding in the intraocular cavity, causing blurred or cloudy vision. In addition, the presence of foreign substances in large enough quantities can cause scarring, production of fibrous tissue membrane and mass, tumors and infection. In the joint, the presence of foreign substances can result in increased friction, inflammation and pain. Generally, the end result is mal- or dysfunction of the tissue or organ cavity.
The visual process and smooth movement of the joints, in particular, each requires a clean, clear environment, free of anatomic distortions secondary to inflammatory fibrous scar tissue formation, dislocated tissues and foreign bodies. Many surgical and medical procedures are presently available to prevent or alleviate cavity dysfunction due to foreign substance build-up by anatomically reconstructing and cleaning cavity spaces after they have been destroyed or are in a state of dysfunction as a result of some pathologic event. However, surgery itself has pathological consequences. Surgical procedures, including those that minimize cavity invasion using fiber optics and microsurgical tools, inevitably involve cutting and manipulating, resulting in the release of tissue, sera and cellular debris. Accordingly, a primary goal in the surgical management of any tissue or organ cavity is the meticulous cleansing of the cavity space of foreign substances to effect and ensure speedy recovery and prompt return of a normal functioning cavity
In conventional surgical procedures, even delicate microsurgical procedures, it is virtually impossible to identify and remove all foreign substances from the cavity and cavity surfaces. Moreover, the more involved and complicated the surgical procedures, the greater the amounts of residual tissue, sera and cellular debris created within the cavity space and on tissue surfaces Without effective removal, healing time will be longer and complete recovery will be more difficult.
Conventional debridement or cleansing of body cavities during and following surgery comprises flushing the cavity with biological fluids, such as sterile saline solutions, and mechanical removal. Such debridement does not completely remove all foreign substances and is highly ineffective in removing water soluble and very small foreign substances.
In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, it would be desirable to have a method for the debridement of mammalian bodily cavities which is safe, relatively simple and highly effective in removing foreign substances.